The Alaska Center for the Book has coordinated Alaska Reads since 2016. Even though Alaska is a huge place, it’s possible for Alaskans to form a rich web of connections. One way to pull us together is through a shared reading experience. To that end, Alaska Reads–a biannual event–features a work centered on some aspect of Alaska life and culture, written by a living Alaskan author.

The Alaska Center for the Book has partnered with the Alaska State Library, the Alaska Humanities Forum, and the Rasmuson Foundation to provide books and author visits to communities around the state. The Alaska State Library has generously funded our purchase of books to be distributed to libraries around Alaska.

Indigenous author Lily Tuzroyluke has been selected for the 2024-2026 Alaska Reads program, which brings Alaskans together through shared reading experiences.

Tuzroyluke is of Inupiaq, Tlingit, and Nisga’a First Nations descent; originally from Point Hope, she now lives in Anchorage. Her historical novel Sivulliq: Ancestor is set in 1890s Alaska, amid harrowing change for the Inupiaq people. The story is a tale of survival, of an Inupiaq family that survives a smallpox epidemic and the arrival of American whalers, and the Black whaler who shares part of their struggle.

Sivulliq: Ancestor has received wide literary praise since being published by Epicenter Press in 2023, and was selected for the Library of Congress Great Reads from Great Places. As the Alaska Reads author, Tuzroyluke will visit libraries and communities across the state through 2026. 

Past Alaska Reads Selections:

Please contact LilaVogt, Alaska Reads Coordinator, with any questions at lilav@spendardak.com.